Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Saturday that if the IDF launches a ground incursion into Gaza it must be prepared to go all out.

“We are ready for a wide-scale ground operation, if necessary, but it should be noted that if the IDF enters Gaza, it cannot be stopped in the middle; it needs to go all the way.

“This wasn’t done after the ground operation in Cast Lead,” he said, explaining that the military stopped short of fully carrying out its objectives in its assault on Hamas four years ago. “We paid a heavy price in world opinion and still did not achieve our goal.”

Speaking at the forum “Cultural Saturdays,” he called Pillar of Defense a military operation with “specific targets” rather than an “all-out war.”

The foreign minister outlined three goals for the operation: bringing quiet to the south, establishing Israeli deterrence, and eradicating the long-range missile arsenal of Gaza terror groups.

“The only way to live here in peace and security is to create a real deterrent by causing an overwhelming response, so that they don’t test us again,” he concluded.